India's political landscape is ablaze with activity! From the ongoing debates surrounding the new farm bills and their impact on rural India, to the upcoming state elections shaping the national narrative, the stakes couldn't be higher. Key political figures are maneuvering strategically, with alliances shifting and power dynamics constantly in flux. The opposition's challenge to the ruling party is intensifying, sparking vigorous debates on crucial policy matters including economic reforms and social justice initiatives. Parliamentary proceedings are filled with heated exchanges, reflecting the deep divisions within the nation. This evolving political climate directly impacts the lives of every Indian citizen, influencing everything from economic opportunities to social welfare programs. Stay informed about the latest developments in Indian politics, from crucial legislative decisions to grassroots movements, by exploring Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and breaking news updates. Understanding the intricacies of our political system is crucial; stay engaged, stay informed, and stay ahead.
Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Monday acquitted 25-year-old man from Katol in Nagpur district eight years after being convicted under Pocso Act, outraging modesty and related charges for allegedly harassing a 17-year-old girl. The court observed that merely saying 'I love you' does not constitute sexual harassment unless accompanied by conduct that indicates sexual intent. "If somebody says that he is in love with another person or expresses his feelings that in itself would not amount to an intent showing some sort of sexual intention," Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke noted."Words expressed as 'I love you' would not by themselves amount to 'sexual intent' as contemplated by the legislature," the court said. "There should be something more that must suggest the real intention is to introduce the angle of sex... It should be reflected by the act." The court said that a sexual act includes inappropriate touching, forcible disrobing, indecent gestures or remarks made with an intent to insult the modesty of a woman.The case stemmed from an October 23, 2015, incident in Khapa village near Nagpur, where a girl, then Class 11 student, alleged that the accused stopped her and her cousin on a road near an agricultural field, caught her hand, asked for her name, and said, "I love you". Based on her complaint, he was booked under sections 354A and 354D of IPC, and Section 8 of Pocso Act.In 2017, a sessions court sentenced him to three years' rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs5,000. He later challenged the verdict through advocate Sonali Khobragade, arguing there was no physical act that met the threshold for sexual assault under Pocso, nor any repeated contact to constitute stalking.Justice Joshi-Phalke agreed, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish any "gesture in the nature of eye expression or body language" indicating intent. "On considering the evidence of prosecution... there is not a single circumstance indicating that the accused's real intention was to establish sexual contact with the victim," she said.She noted that the utterance 'I love you' occurred only once and in the presence of the girl's cousin, which was not enough to prove sexual harassment. "The offence under Section 8 of the Pocso Act is not made out as there is no allegation that the accused touched the girl with sexual intent," the court held.Criticising the trial court for overlooking key legal definitions, she stated, "Without considering the true import of the provision, the judge convicted the accused, which is erroneous." The HC quashed the lower court's judgment and ordered the man's immediate release.Key takeaways from verdict- There must be clear gestures or acts indicating a desire for sexual contact for Pocso provisions to apply- A single utterance without repeated contact or stalking is insufficient to establish criminal intent- No touching of private parts or physical contact of a sexual nature was proven- Trial court misapplied definitions under IPC and Pocso Act- HC quashed conviction and ordered immediate release of the accused
New Delhi [India], February 10 (ANI): The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday said that appeals challenging the acquittals of accused persons in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases need to be filed seriously by prosecution agencies and not just for the sake of it. A bench of justices, Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, was informed by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, who represented the Delhi Police, that the state has asked prosecuting agencies to file Special Leave Petitions (SLPs). Also Read | UP Shocker: Woman Strangulates 2 Daughters, Attempts to Kill Self After Domestic Dispute With ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday cancelled the bail granted to former Karnataka minister Vinay Kulkarni in connection with a 2016 case related to the murder of BJP worker Yogesh Gowda. A bench of justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma passed the order while noting that there was sufficient material on record to suggest that attempts were made by Kulkarni to either contact the witnesses or alternatively, influence them. "Keeping in mind the totality of circumstances, this court is of the considered opinion that the bail granted to the respondent (Kulkarni) ought to ...Read More >
Berhampur (Odisha), Jun 6 (PTI) Environmental activist Medha Patkar on Saturday appealed to the people of Odisha for protection of Rushikulya river. The government planned to construct a dam in the river Pipalapnaka under Sorada block in the district. While participating in the Save Rushikulya river movement in Ganjam district, she said, "Rivers may be small or big, but they are our mother. We have to protect the rivers from attacks." She attended a meeting were organised by the Rushikulya Banchao Kriyaanusthan Committee (RBKC) and the Centre for Climate Justice, spearheading the agitation a ...Read More >
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 27 (ANI): A female student was allegedly gang-raped inside a law college in Kolkata's Kasba on Wednesday evening. The police have arrested all three accused within 24 hours. The three accused, named as Monojit Mishra (31), Zaib Ahmed (19), and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20), were former students or staff members of the same law college. Also Read | Student Gang-Raped at South Kolkata Law College: Police Arrest 3 Youths for Sexually Assaulting Young Woman Inside Law College. According to the police, the accused named in the FIR will be produced before the A.C.J. ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Mysuru Dasara is set to run for 11 days this year -- a rare extension driven by celestial alignment and cultural planning -- with the inaugural ceremony on Sept 22 and the grand Jamboo Savari taking place on Oct 2, coinciding with Vijayadashami and Gandhi Jayanti.Chairing a high-level meeting at Vidhana Soudha Friday, chief minister Siddaramaiah said, "Mysuru Dasara in 2025 will be celebrated for 11 days, due to a unique astronomical occurrence -- the Panchami tithi (fifth lunar day) will appear on two consecutive days, Sept 26 and 27, a rare alignment that hasn't occurred in nearly ...Read More >
New Delhi, [India], December 11 (ANI): The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the growing tendency to misuse Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which penalises cruelty by husbands and their relatives against married women. While quashing a Section 498A IPC case against a husband and his parents, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh said that the Section became a tool for unleashing personal vendetta against the husband and his family by a wife. Also Read | RBI Will Remain Alert and Agile to Meet Challenges, Says New Governor Sanjay Malhotra (Watch Video). " ...Read More >
The Supreme Court of India has said that mere harassment is not sufficient to hold someone guilty of the offence of abetting suicide, and there must be clear evidence of direct or indirect incitement. Photograph: ANI Photo The observations came from a bench of justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale which delivered its verdict on an appeal challenging a Gujarat high court order which refused to discharge a woman's husband and her two in-laws for allegedly harassing her and driving her to suicide. ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The government on Saturday extended the term of the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Ravi Agrawal by one year, an official notification said.The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the re-appointment of Agrawal, an IRS officer of the 1988 batch, as CBDT chairman for one year from July 1 this year to June 30, 2026, on contract basis.Agrawal took over as the CBDT chairman from Nitin Gupta in June 2024 after Gupta's extended tenure ended. Agrawal has been a member of CBDT. He was member administration and had served as DG investigation in Delhi. The gover ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing from all angles, including sabotage, in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed 274 people on board and on the ground last month, Minister of State (MoS) For Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said. Mohol said the black box of the Air India flight AI 171 that has been recovered is in AAIB's custody and will not be outside the country for a thorough assessment. The MoS was speaking at the Pune chapter of the Emerging Business Conclave. "It (plane crash) was an unfortunate incident. The AAIB has begun a full investig ...Read More >
The Supreme Court overturned a Madras High Court decision. The high court had refused to dismiss defamation charges against Union minister L Murugan. Murugan faced these charges over statements made in 2020. The Supreme Court accepted Murugan's argument. He said he did not intend to defame the Murasoli Trust. The case is now closed.The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed criminal defamation proceedings against Union minister L Murugan on a complaint filed by the Chennai-based Murasoli Trust for his ...Read More >
New Delhi: Three Indian citizens vanished mysteriously in Tehran. Darkness closed in as hope seemed lost. A ruthless Pakistani gang with potential links to ISI snatched them away, casting a shadow of fear. But relentless Indian diplomats refused to back down. Against all odds, a daring rescue mission ignited. Now, the captives are free, and a chilling game of espionage comes to light. The Punjab-based trio - Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur, Jaspal Singh from SBS Nagar and Hushnapreet Singh from Sangrur - had landed in Iran on May 1. Promised a clandestine route to Australia via Dubai and Tehra ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): A minor girl died due to injuries on her face at a hospital after she was allegedly sexaully assaulted in the National Capital, Delhi police said in a statement. Police said that a call regarding the sexual assault of a minor girl was received at Dayalpur police station on June 7 at 8: 41 pm. Upon reaching the location, the police team found that a minor girl in an unconscious state had been taken to JPC Hospital by her father, where she was declared dead on arrival, police added. Prima facie, the attending doctors at the hospital observed visible injuries o ...Read More >
Srinagar- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said foreign countries were told clearly during the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach that in case of a fresh provocation, India would repeat its action. Speaking at a discussion at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Tharoor said Indian delegations which visited foreign countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor managed to convey that India acted with restraint and responsibility. "In other places, we actually were able to get some very high-placed people to say not only that they respected and supported India's right of self- ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said accelerated the trial against former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee facing money laundering probe in the teacher recruitment scam, while directing his release on bail on or before February 1, 2025. The apex court's judgment came on the bail plea of Chatterjee in the money laundering case arising out of the West Bengal cash-for-jobs scam. A bench led by Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said a suspect can be held in custody indefinitely. The apex court decided to grant bail to Chatterjee, prime accused in teach ...Read More >
Srinagar, Jun 7 (PTI) Authorities on Saturday barred Eid prayers from taking place at the Eidgah ground and the Jama Masjid in the old city here, while Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq claimed that he was put under house arrest. "Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid Srinagar deeply regrets to inform that the authorities have once again disallowed Eid-ul-Adha prayers at the Eidgah as well as at the historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar by closing the gates of the mosque and deploying police personnel outside," the management of the historic mosque said in a statement. ...Read More >
New Delhi: Alleging "blatant misuse" of agencies to defame its leaders, AAP on Thursday questioned why the first information report filed against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain was being kept under wraps and "selective" press notes were being leaked to the media.Bharadwaj, who is Delhi AAP convener, alleged that only two former ministers were named in the case without any reasonable cause while all the officers of the health and public works departments, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, were spared. "Is the FIR so baseless that BJP ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday set aside the decision of the sentence review board which had rejected a plea for premature release of Santosh Kumar Singh, who is serving life term for the 1996 rape and murder of law student Priyadarshini Mattoo. Justice Sanjeev Narula said there is an element of reformation in Singh and referred the matter back to the sentence review board (SRB) to consider afresh the convict's premature release plea. "I have found some element of reformation in him. The SRB decision is set aside and I have referred back the matter to SRB to consider ...Read More >
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the state police on Tuesday said it has arrested two accused wanted in several bomb blasts and communal murder cases after being on the run for over 25 years. The key accused among the two is Abubacker Siddique of Nagore. He is allegedly involved in the attempt to plant a pipe-bomb during the rath yatra of former home minister LK Advani in Madurai in 2011, among others. Other cases he is allegedly involved include the bomb blast at Hindu Munnani office in 1995 in Chennai, an explosion in Nagore the same year, and coordinated planting of bo ...Read More >
Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], July 2 (ANI): The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted a 25-year-old man who was earlier convicted for allegedly teasing a minor girl by saying 'I love you' back in 2015, overturning the verdict of a lower court. According to the judgment, the man had been sentenced to three years' imprisonment by a Nagpur sessions court under sections 354-A (sexual harassment) and 354D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act. The lower court had viewed his words as stemming from sexual int ...Read More >
Kuldeep Singh Sengar is also serving a 10-year jail term in connection with the custodial death of the Unnao rape victim's father. Kuldeep Singh Sengar sought interim bail on the grounds that he was suffering from various ailments The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted a two-week interim bail on medical grounds to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar who is serving life term for raping a minor in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao in 2017. A bench headed by Justice Prathiba M Singh suspended the sent ...Read More >
The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to eight convicts in the infamous 1987 Hashimpura massacre case of 38 persons by the personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary. IMAGE: File photograph of Muslims in Meerut staging a protest demanding justice in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre case. Photograph: PTI Photo/Rediff archives A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih took note of the submissions of senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, appearing for four convicts, that t ...Read More >
Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's hunger strike enters its 17th day. His health is critical. The Supreme Court urges dialogue between the government and Dallewal. Dallewal demands MSP guarantee and other farmer-centric issues. He has written an open letter to the Prime Minister. Farmers' organizations continue their protests at the Punjab-Haryana border.The Supreme Court on Friday expressed serious concern over the deteriorating health of Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who ...Read More >
Silchar: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday visited the flood-ravaged districts of Hailakandi and Sribhumi in the Barak Valley. He assured affected residents of providing timely disbursement of rehabilitation grants and swift repair of damaged infrastructure.This marks Sarma's second visit to the flood-hit region within four days, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Speaking to the media in Sribhumi after inspecting multiple relief camps, the CM said, "Flood-related problems may persist till July. I will return before Durga Puja to ensure that roads and infrastructure ar ...Read More >
Gurgaon: Two days after a law student died and his friend suffered critical injuries when a car knocked them down as they stood near railing on the service lane of Delhi-Jaipur highway in the early hours of Tuesday, a civil engineer was arrested on Thursday.Mohit (31), an employee of a private company in the city, told police that he got drowsy while driving. He is staying at a PG facility in Sector 14.The student who died, Harsh Singhal (25), was a resident of Om Nagar colony. His friend Abhishek Kumar (23), who is from Shanti Nagar in Sector 11, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital ...Read More >
MUMBAI: Three judges of the Bombay high court (HC) have recused themselves from hearing a plea filed by the chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of HDFC Bank, Sashidhar Jagdishan, to quash a First Information Report (FIR) registered against him at Bandra police station on June 8, based on a complaint by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust. The Trust, which owns and manages the prominent Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, had alleged that Jagdishan had accepted kickbacks worth ₹2.05 crore in exchange for providing financial advice to help the Chetan Mehta Group, erstwhile t ...Read More >
Mumbai, June 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) Raging controversy over the introduction of Hindi in Marathi and English schools from classes 1 to 5, the protests against the land acquisition for the Rs 86,300 crore Shaktipeeth Mahamarg, tabling of Public Security Act following the scrutiny of the joint select committee, damage caused to agriculture due to unseasonal rains and demand for from loan waiver are among the several issues which are going to be discussed during the three week monsoon session of Maharashtra Legislature starting from June 30 in Mumbai. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 6 (ANI): Delhi's Dwarka Court recently acquitted an army colonel and his friend accused of raping an advocate noting the delay in FIR and contradications in the testimony of victim and absence of corroborative forensic or medical evidence to prove the allegations. While acquitting the accused persons, the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Gagandeep Jindal noted the contradictions and inconsistencies in the complainant's testimony. An FIR was lodged at Dwarka 23 Police Station against army officer under Sections 376 (2) (n) (repeated rape) by administering sedative laced ...Read More >
New Delhi: In a setback for former minister and Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni, the Supreme Court Friday cancelled the bail granted to him in relation to BJP zilla panchayat member Yogeshgowdar murder case on grounds of attempts to influence witnesses. He was directed to surrender before the trial court or the jail authority within a month's time."It would suffice to state that there is sufficient material on record to suggest that attempts have been made by the respondent to either contact witnesses or, alternatively, influence them," a vacation bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Sathish Chandra ...Read More >
Gurgaon: A chemist and a lab operator have been arrested for allegedly selling medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) kits illegally. Two separate FIRs were lodged against the accused at Sector 10 and Sector 9A police stations, police said on Friday.The pharmacy was sealed and medical officials have initiated proceedings to cancel its licence. District drugs control officer Suresh Verma said the department received information about illegal sales of MTP kits - also called abortion kits - from Juneja Chemist, located near Civil Hospital. A pregnant woman, who was deployed as a decoy customer, v ...Read More >
Mumbai, June 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) It was a belligerent, brilliant, and breathtaking performance from the Chennai Bulls, who were crowned the first ever champions of the Rugby Premier League, here in Mumbai, at the Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex. The Chennai Bulls thrashed the Delhi Redz by a scoreline of 41-0 in the final, to clinch the title. In fact, the margin of victory is the biggest across Season 1 of the GMR RPL. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Heroes, who had finished top of the table in the league stage, came away with a third-place finish, after they won 17-12 against the Bengaluru Bra ...Read More >